Copyright Twentieth Century Fox. All rights reserved/Courtesy Everett
Published Apr 27, 2026, 11:11 PM EDT
Michael John Petty is a Senior Author for Collider who spends his days writing, in fellowship with his local church, and enjoying each new day with his wife and daughters. At Collider, he writes features, reviews, recaps, and conducts interviews. In addition to writing about stories, Michael has told a few of his own. His novella, The Beast of Bear-tooth Mountain, was released in 2023. His Western short story, The Devil's Left Hand, received the Spur Award for "Best Western Short Fiction" from the Western Writers of America in 2025. Michael currently resides in North Idaho with his growing family.
Sign in to your Collider account
When it comes to science fiction, there are just some movies that never need to be touched. While remakes can be a great way to take a good concept with uneven execution to new heights by improving on the structure, characters, or visual style, they can also be quite horrific if done poorly. Although sci-fi fans are no stranger to the remake, not every attempt to update the material pans out.
Sci-fi is an interesting genre in that, what may have been science fiction at one point in time, quickly becomes science fact in modern day. More than that, what worked in an original context with its original audience may not translate properly to the 21st century. Of course, the most egregious errors that many sci-fi remakes make involve trying to improve on something that needed no improvement in the first place. That's where we find ourselves with this list of the worst sci-fi remakes out there — so prepare yourself for disappointment.
10 'Godzilla' (1998)
Image via TriStar PicturesAfter the success of the Jurassic Park films in the early-to-mid-90s, Stargate and Independence Day pair Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin decided to try their hand at Godzilla — and let's just say that there's a reason we've tried to ignore it. For one thing, the movie essentially turns the Japanese kaiju into a T-rex-like dinosaur that roams around New York City like something out of The Lost World. As the first exclusively American produced entry in the overall franchise, it was beyond a major fail.
When the animated series that spun off from your failed movie is better than the blockbuster itself, there's a problem. Of the worst Godzilla movies out there, the 1998 film is undoubtedly the worst — and there are some weird ones in the franchise. Perhaps if it weren't called Godzilla, we would've liked it a bit better, but as it stands being a remake (well, technically a reboot), it suffers on all counts.
9 'Planet of the Apes' (2001)
Image via DisneyIt's hard to see how anyone could fully recreate the magic of the original Planet of the Apes, especially given Charlton Heston's fabulous performance in the picture. And yet, after James Cameron failed to revive the franchise, it was Tim Burton who nearly put it in the grave. Burton gave it the old college try in this uneven attempt to bait-and-switch audiences, but it failed to capture the brilliance of the original. At least Tim Roth is great in it...
Heston even returned for the 2001 Planet of the Apes remake, but not even his cameo appearance (this time as a "damned dirty ape") could save the picture. Planet of the Apes was so poorly received that it took another decade for filmmakers to figure out how to save it from fading into obscurity. When they did, the prequel-boot route gave it new life in a way that both separated it from and honored the original.
8 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' (2008)
Image via 20th Century FoxAlthough director Scott Derrickson has proven himself to be something of a master of the horror genre, his venture into pulpy science fiction didn't sit as well with audiences. His remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still is notorious among sci-fi fans for its bland attempt to resurrect a film that was already pretty perfect on its own. Although it's become a hit on streaming in recent years, let's be honest, most of us bought the home video version because it also came with the original 1951 picture...
The Day the Earth Stood Still replaces the Cold War threat of nuclear war with a climate change-based crisis that simply doesn't land the same way. While Keanu Reeves was perfectly cast and Derrickson does a fine job at attempting to honor the source material, the final result leaves too much to be desired. Perhaps this was a movie that just didn't need a remake at all.
7 'The Invasion' (2007)
Image via Warner Bros. PicturesThe fourth attempt at bringing The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney to life, The Invasion stars powerhouses like Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, yet even they aren't enough to make this one work. Given that both the Don Siegel and Philip Kaufman versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers are near-perfect on their own, The Invasion doesn't offer us anything terribly novel to attach our interest to — even if it does change the ending considerably.
Sure, Kidman and Craig are fine, but The Invasion tries too hard to be its own 21st century thing while still coming across as ultimately too derivative. It has its moments, and compared to a lot of movies today, it looks significantly better visually (the new 4K release no doubt emphasizes that), but fans of the originals will ultimately be too disappointed to care. Here's hoping the inevitable fifth adaptation will be better.
6 'Total Recall' (2012)
If you love Arnold Schwarzenegger's Total Recall, then you should probably avoid the Colin Farrell adaptation. Not only did the Governator openly criticize a remake of one of his beloved '90s action movies, but the final product leaves much to be desired. Yes, it's the same familiar idea, but the Mars setting of the original is swapped for Earth and Farrell is nowhere near as engaging as Schwarzenegger in the role. It's no wonder critics weren't thrilled.
Total Recall should have been a hit with Underworld director Len Wiseman at the helm (especially if you love his unique style of action), but it feels particularly uninspired when compared to Paul Verhoeven's original style. The 2012 remake was stripped of the original's humor, emotionally distant, and a bit too basic for many who adore the 1990 version. Farrell isn't bad, he just is no Schwarzenegger.
5 'The Island of Dr. Moreau' (1996)
Image via New Line CinemaNotoriously known as one of the worst movies ever made, The Island of Dr. Moreau is a disaster in every sense of the word. You might think that Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer together would be cinematic magic (and it easily could have been), but this remake is anything but. The third attempt to adapt the famed H.G. Wells tale, this 1996 production is what happens when everything that can go wrong does go wrong.
There's something poetic about Brando playing a mad scientist who divorces himself from reality by playing God on his own private island — although by all the behind-the-scenes accounts, the Old Hollywood star may not have been acting. The fact that The Island of Dr. Moreau was completed at all is something of a miracle, even if the final product is nothing short of Brando (and maybe Kilmer's) worst. It's a shame too, because with such great stars and source material to pull from, this should have been an instant hit.
4 'Lilo & Stitch' (2025)
Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Courtesy Everett CollectionThe live-action animated remake of Lilo & Stitch is both redundant and frustrating. For one thing, it doesn't have the same lovable atmosphere nor is it as imaginative as the original. Some of that is lost in translation between the purely animated 2002 flick and the blended live-action/animated medium of the 2025 remake, but a lot of it has to do with certain ways that the latest attempt reinterprets the material. For fans who grew up with the original, sit this one out.
Despite being one of the 50 highest grossing movies out there, Lilo & Stitch is just another one of Disney's uninspired cash grabs that attempts to cling to what made the company great years ago. It just doesn't work, and even with a sequel in development, it's hard to imagine how this live-action franchise could compare to what audiences loved about the original work and its television sequels.
3 'Twilight Zone: The Movie' (1983)
Image via Warner Bros.While not a remake of another movie, Twilight Zone: The Movie consists entirely of reworked material from Rod Serling's original The Twilight Zone television series. That means bigger budgets, bigger stars, bigger directors (Steven Spielberg and George Miller, included), and a much bigger failure. Like The Island of Dr. Moreau, Twilight Zone went through its own fair share of behind-the-scenes tragedy, and the results, sadly, prove that it was a futile effort.
Chief among the big-screen Twilight Zone disappointments was its remake of the iconic "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet." The film is split into four vignettes helmed by different filmmakers, and this inferior take on the original 1963 episode closes out the whole thing. The stakes may appear to be higher, but we care far less about John Lithgow's fearsome flyer than we did William Shatner's take 20 years earlier. George Miller may be a Mad Max master, but his take on The Twilight Zone
2 'The Thing' (2011)
Image via Universal PicturesOkay, technically, the 2011 version of The Thing is actually a prequel rather than a remake, beginning a long-running (and annoying) trend in the horror world of naming a prequel or sequel the same as the original classic. But even though The Thing is a stealth prequel to John Carpenter's film, the whole thing was framed (and billed by many) as a remake — so we're going to treat it like one. Even if it has its merits as a standalone prequel, it fails to capture most of what made Carpenter's original so thrilling.
Interestingly, John Carpenter's The Thing is actually a remake, but it's a remake that re-imagines the original idea masterfully. The 2011 film, by comparison, doesn't do anything terribly new. It tries to rehash some of the best elements of the 1982 picture but without the same Kurt Russell-style charisma to make it work. In the end, we know where the story is going anyway...
1 'Star Trek Into Darkness' (2014)
Image via Paramount PicturesWhile not advertised as a remake, Star Trek Into Darkness is a soft reboot of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Due to the time travel present in the 2009 film that preceded it, Into Darkness exists in an alternate Star Trek timeline where Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise find themselves encountering many of their old threats in brand-new ways. In this case, Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch) is chief among them.
Although fans of the Star Trek reboot films likely enjoy J.J. Abrams' take on Wrath of Khan, fans of the original were quite frustrated with the results. Not only does Into Darkness flip the ending, but many believed that Cumberbatch was a major miscast as the villain, and felt that the soft remake was unable to deliver on the high expectations set by the original. Given that Wrath of Khan is the Empire Strikes Back of Star Trek movies, there was little hope that Star Trek Into Darkness could measure up on principle alone.
Collider Exclusive · Action Hero Quiz
Which Action Hero Would Be
Your Perfect Partner?
Rambo · James Bond · Indiana Jones · John McClane · Ethan Hunt
Five legends. Five completely different ways of getting out alive — with style, with muscle, with charm, with luck, or with a plan so intricate it probably shouldn't work. Ten questions will reveal which action hero was built to have your back.
🎖️Rambo
🍸James Bond
🏺Indiana Jones
🔧John McClane
🎭Ethan Hunt
FIND YOUR PARTNER →
01
You're dropped into a dangerous situation with no warning. What do you need most from a partner? The first few seconds tell you everything about who belongs beside you.
ASomeone who already has three contingency plans running and is calmly working through all of them. BSomeone who reads the terrain instinctively and knows exactly how to use it against the enemy. CSomeone who keeps their nerve and their sense of humour when everything is falling apart. DSomeone who knows the history of wherever we are and what we're walking into. ESomeone with the right contact, the right cover identity, and the right exit already arranged.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
You have to get somewhere dangerous, fast. How do you travel? How you get there is half the mission.
AOn foot through terrain no one else would attempt — I move where vehicles can't follow. BOn a motorcycle, a cargo plane, or anything else that gets me there before I think too hard about it. CIn something that belongs to someone else — borrowed, stolen, or improvised under fire. DFirst class, with a cover identity and a gadget that does something I won't explain until it's needed. EBy whatever means are available — I've driven, flown, and once arrived by camel. The destination matters, not the method.
NEXT QUESTION →
03
You're pinned down and outnumbered. What does your ideal partner do? This is when you find out what someone is really made of.
ADisappears into the environment, flanks them silently, and ends it before I've reloaded. BCracks a one-liner, grabs a fire extinguisher or a chair, and improvises something that somehow works. CProduces a gadget specifically designed for this exact scenario and uses it with infuriating precision. DPulls out a whip, a pistol, and an archaeological insight that somehow gets us out alive. ENeutralises the threat with maximum efficiency and minimum words — they were already three moves ahead.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
The mission is paused. You have one evening to decompress. What does your partner suggest? Who someone is when the pressure drops is who they actually are.
AA bar with terrible lighting, cold beer, and absolutely no questions about feelings. BThe finest restaurant in the city, a bottle of something expensive, and a conversation that is equal parts brilliant and exhausting. CA local dig site, a museum after hours, or a long story about why that particular artefact matters to human civilisation. DPizza. Bad TV. Falling asleep halfway through a movie neither of you were watching anyway. EA debrief that turns into three hours of contingency planning that somehow becomes the most fun you've had all week.
NEXT QUESTION →
05
How do you prefer your partner to communicate mid-mission? Good communication is the difference between partners and a liability.
APrecise and minimal — tell me what I need to know and nothing else. Every word has a cost. BDeadpan and dry — keeping it light keeps me sharp, even when everything is on fire. CEnthusiastic and slightly chaotic — but always with useful information buried somewhere in the noise. DCalm and controlled through an earpiece, with a plan that covers every variable I haven't thought of yet. EBarely at all — silence is a language and they speak it fluently.
NEXT QUESTION →
06
Your enemy is powerful, well-resourced, and has the upper hand. How should your partner approach them? The approach to the enemy defines the partnership.
AInfiltrate their inner circle, learn everything, and dismantle them from inside out before they know we're there. BStudy the historical pattern — every villain of this type has a weakness written somewhere in the past. CGet them talking. The more they monologue, the more time I have to figure out how to beat them. DGo through them. Directly. With as much force as the terrain allows. EFind the one thing they haven't accounted for — there's always one thing — and make sure we're holding it.
NEXT QUESTION →
07
Things go badly wrong and you're captured. What do you trust your partner to do? Who someone is when you need them most is the only thing that matters.
ACome in alone, quietly, and get me out before anyone knows they were there. BHave already been working on the extraction since the moment I disappeared — the plan is already running. CCome in loud, come in fast, and worry about the collateral damage later — I'd do the same for them. DUse every resource, every contact, and bend every rule until I'm out — they don't leave people behind. ECharm their way in somehow, bluff through the hard part, and still manage to look good doing it.
NEXT QUESTION →
08
What does your ideal partner bring to the table that you couldn't replace? A great partner fills the gap you didn't know you had.
ATechnology that shouldn't exist yet and the training to use it under any conditions. BSurvival instinct so refined it borders on supernatural — and the scars to prove it's been tested. CKnowledge of history, language, and culture that makes them invaluable in places where force is useless. DThe ability to walk into any room in the world and immediately become the most trusted person in it. EStubbornness that refuses to accept a situation is hopeless — and the improvisational skill to back it up.
NEXT QUESTION →
09
Every partnership has a cost. Which of these can you live with? No one comes without baggage. The question is whether you can carry it together.
AA partner who never fully switches off — always watching exits, always calculating threats, even at dinner. BA partner who gets the job done brilliantly but has the emotional availability of a locked filing cabinet. CA partner who makes everything ten times more complicated than it needs to be — but who always comes through. DA partner who gets personally attached to every relic, ruin, and artefact we encounter, which slows everything down. EA partner who was not built for this and knows it — but shows up anyway, every time, without being asked.
NEXT QUESTION →
10
It's the final moment. Everything is on the line. What do you need from your partner right now? The last question is the most honest one.
AOne line. Absolutely dry. Delivered like the world isn't ending. Then we move. BNothing said at all — just a look that means we both already know what has to happen. CA plan I don't fully understand that somehow accounts for everything, delivered in thirty seconds flat. DA piece of historical context that reframes the entire situation and tells us exactly what to do next. ESomeone who steps forward instead of back — because that's who they've always been.
REVEAL MY PARTNER →
Your Partner Has Been Assigned Your Perfect Partner Is…
Your answers have pointed to one action hero above all others. This is the person built to have your back — for better or considerably, spectacularly worse.
Rambo
Your partner doesn't talk much, doesn't need to, and will have assessed every threat in your immediate environment before you've finished your first sentence. John Rambo is not a man of plans or politics — he is a force of nature shaped by survival, loyalty, and a capacity for endurance that goes beyond anything training can produce. He will not leave you behind. He has never left anyone behind who deserved to come home. What you get with Rambo is the most capable, most quietly ferocious partner imaginable — one who has been through things that would have broken anyone else, and who chose to keep going anyway. You'll never need to ask if he has your back. You'll just know.
James Bond
Your partner will arrive perfectly dressed, perfectly briefed, and with a cover story so convincing it'll take you a moment to remember what's actually true. James Bond is the most professionally dangerous person in any room he enters — and the most disarmingly charming, which is the point. He operates in a world of layers, where nothing is what it appears and every advantage is used without apology. You'll never be bored. You'll occasionally be furious. But when it matters — when the mission is genuinely on the line and the margin for error has collapsed to nothing — Bond is exactly the partner you want. He has survived things that have no business being survivable. He does it with style. That is not nothing.
Indiana Jones
Your partner will know the history, the language, the cultural context, and exactly why the thing everyone else is ignoring is actually the most important thing in the room. Indiana Jones is brilliant, reckless, and occasionally impossible — but he is also one of the most resourceful, most genuinely knowledgeable partners you could find yourself beside. He approaches every situation with a scholar's eye and a brawler's instinct, which is an unusual combination and a remarkably effective one. He hates snakes and gets personally attached to objects of historical significance, both of which will slow you down at least once. It doesn't matter. What Indy brings is irreplaceable — and the adventures you'll have together will be the kind people write books about. Assuming you survive them.
John McClane
Your partner was not supposed to be here. He does not have the right equipment, the right information, or anything approaching the right odds. He has a sarcastic remark and an absolute refusal to accept that the situation is as bad as it looks. John McClane is the greatest accidental hero in the history of action cinema — a man whose superpower is stubbornness, whose contingency plan is improvisation, and whose capacity to absorb punishment and keep moving would be alarming if it weren't so useful. He will complain the entire time. He will make it significantly more chaotic than it needed to be. And he will absolutely, unconditionally, without question come through when it counts. Yippee-ki-yay.
Ethan Hunt
Your partner has already run seventeen scenarios by the time you've finished reading the briefing, and the plan he's settled on involves at least two things that should be physically impossible. Ethan Hunt operates at the absolute edge of human capability — technically, physically, and intellectually — and he brings the same relentless precision to protecting his partners that he brings to dismantling organisations that shouldn't exist. He is not easy to know and he will never fully tell you everything. But he will carry the weight of the mission so completely, so absolutely, that your job is simply to trust him — and the remarkable thing is that trusting him always turns out to be the right call. The mission will be impossible. He will complete it anyway.
↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
English (US) ·